
1799.] 
work, explanatory ef the properties and 
ufes of plants, and forming a compre- 
henfive fyitem of praétical botany ; in con- 
fequence of which latter defign, I thought 
proper to fufpend my own work tili I 
could gain fuch fatisfactory intelligence 
refpecting the other, as would enable me 
to judge how far our refpective under- 
takings might clafh with each other. As 
a confiderable time has elapfed fince the 
publication of thac profpectus, and no 
material progrefs having been made, as 
far as I can learn, in the work, I am at 
a lofs to conceive whether it has been re- 
linguifhed from want of patronage and 
{upport, which is too often the cafe with 
works of any magnitude and importance; 
or whether it has been retarded by any 
other accidental or unforefeen circum- 
ftances. I thall be obliged, therefore, to 
the author, fhould this letter fall under 
his obfervation, to acquaint me whether 
he is ftill occupied on this undertaking ; 
and, in particular, whether he abides in 
his original intention of publifhing a fy{- 
tem of praftical botany. ‘That he may 
form a judgment of the nature and extent 
of my work, I fubjoin a lift of the trea- 
tifes which I had propofed to tranflate, 
previoufly remarking, that in order to 
render the work as complete and authen- 
tic as poflible, each differtation would have 
been enlarged by various additions and 
annotations, illuftrative of the difcoveries 
that have been made fince the publication 
of the Amznitates Academicz. 
Sec. I. MeEpicrNnatL. 
Vires Plantarum. 
Plante officinales. 
Medicamenta purgantia. 
——_——_--— _ graveolentia. 
-——— inebrientia. 
Sec. I. ALIMENTARY. 
Plante efculentz. 
Macellum olitorium. 
Fructus efculenti. 
Sec. JI. Mecuanicat. 
Flora economica. 
Plante tinCtoriez. 
Herbze 


— 
This, as far as I had arranged it, is the 
plan upon which I had defigned to pro- 
ceed. But as there are other papers on 
thefe fubje&ts in the valuable colleétion 
from which the above are fele&ted, which 
would not anfwer fo well in a tranflation, 
and which would Jikewife increafe the 
work to a greater extent than I withed, 
it ftruck me as by no means an ineligible 
plan, to have incorporated the informa- 
tion they contained in their refpective 
Intended Tranflation of Amenitates Academice. 
.gazine, vol. iv. p. 533). 
375 
places with the other treatifes, and per- 
haps mature confideration might have in- 
duced me to have gone upon a fimilar plan 
with fome of the papers in the above lift, 
more particularly in the one intituled, 
_ Plante Officinales, which is barely a litt 
of officinal plants, and muft neceflarily, 
without. feme additional obfervations, 
prove extremely uninterefting. As I by 
no means with to interfere with the defign 
of another perfon, and prior, perhaps, to 
my own, I am particularly defirous of 
gaining intelligence, both with regard to 
the precife nature of, and progrefs that 
has been made in the work, fo long fince 
announced for publication, by a member 
of the Univerfity of Oxford, that I may 
have an opportunity of judging whether 
it would be expedient to refume my plan, 
or entirely relinquith it. 
I was much gratified by obferving a 
tranflation of Gmelin’s edition of the 
Syftema Nature, with the fubfequent dif- 
coveries, announced in your laft Maga- 
zine, p. 319, and am happy a work of 
this importance has fallen into fuch able 
hands. As the refpeCtable author of this 
tranilation propofes to include the dif- 
coveries made fince the publication of the 
oviginal work, which are both numerous 
and interefting, I hope he will, at the 
fame time, pay particular attention in 
correcting the multifarious errors with 
which Gmelin’s work, more particularly 
in the botanical department, abounds. 
There is likewife an improvement I 
would recommend in the tranflation of 
this work, and which will not be attend- 
ed with much trouble; that is, the fepa- 
ration of the two clafles, Icofandria and 
Polyandria, which have been fo unfyf- 
tematically united by Gmelin. Other 
occafional improvements will dcubtlefs 
occur to the tranflator in the progrefs of 
his undertaking. Withing him’ fuccefs 
in the execution of it, I remain, 
Yours, &c. 
OOTP Tt al 
SEE 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
Seo ERs 
HAVE long expeéted that fome of 
your metaphyfical correfpondents 
would notice Mr. Richters very fubtle 
attack upon ‘* Hume's Account of the 
Origin of our Ideas.’ (See Monthly Ma- 
Not that the 
literary reputation of Hume, great as it 
has been, is of vaft moment; but that the 
enquiry involves the moft important topics 
inthe theory of mind. The following is 
a very comprefled {tatement of Hume’s doe- 
trine 
May roth, 1799. 
